It’s summer. Time to relax.
Have a glass of lemonade and take things easy.
These lazy days even super readers love a stack of picture books. So how about these picture books that celebrate the simple things…
Go back to the basics with Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, a classic story of the triumph of out dated technology and a return to simpler days. Mike and his old-timey shovel Mary Ann can’t keep up with the new backhoes on the block, but when they dig themselves into a hole (literally!) Mike and Mary Ann make the best of it, with Mary Ann serving as the brand new building’s boiler.
Have your kids even heard of a typewriter (that old-fangled noisy thing we used to write on, before computers!) Everyone will have a clattering good time with Doreen Cronin’s Click Clack Moo Cows That Type, a tale of a barn yard of journalistic bovines who have their say as soon as the farmer’s back is turned. Get typing!
Olden days weren’t always golden days. And a jump rope today could have been something very different in times gone by. Explore serious themes with your kids while reading Jacqueline Woodson’s beautiful This Is The Rope.
I love the next one so much– It kills me that I didn’t think of it first. The Day The Crayons Quit. And if you have a quirky sense of humor you’ll love it as much as your kids do, too!
Steamy today, sweater weather come author. Get ready for knit one, pearl two with Extra Yarn!
I can’t think of anything better than snuggling on a porch swing with my favorite reader with a big stack of gorgeous books and a glass of ice cold lemonade. And I can see these books prompting lots of great discussions– not just about how things used to be but also how things ought to be!
Read any wonderful old fashioned books lately? What’s your favorite simple summer pleasure?
Tami Lewis Brown is attempting to write her next novel on a clickety clackety old fashioned typewriter but she hasn’t given up on the internet. She’ll blog about that next Thursday at Through The Tollbooth.
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I’d add How about BELLA AND BEAN by Rebecca Kai Dotlich for those whose summer thoughts turn to creative writing and friendship? And speaking of old-fashioned, how about Holling C. Hollings’ PADDLE TO THE SEA? It was my favorite book growing up, a great adventure, and it’s never gone out of print!
It’s a new picture book but one I think is destined to be loved for a long time–“Three Bears in a Boat” by David Soman. The story is sweet and the illustrations are glorious!